SUMMER 2011 | 1
Eating by numbers
Humans, like all living things,
cannot survive without food. A snapshot of our lives through food
For many of us, though, food GLOBAL POPULATION BY BODY MASS INDEX
is about so much more than 0.5bn 1.0bn
sustenance. Culture, identity,
religion, relationships, mood, BMI classification 1.0bn
Underweight <18.5
fashion, pleasure – what we Normal 18.5–24.9
choose to eat touches on Overweight 25.0–29.9
many aspects of our lives. In Obese >30.0
this issue, we look at what
drives us to eat, what happens 4.2bn
to food once we’ve eaten it,
and what impact our dietary
choices have on our health Ref: The State of Food Insecurity in the World, 2008: High food prices and food security –
threats and opportunities. Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, 2008,
and wellbeing and that www.who.int/mediacentre/factsheets/fs311/en/
INSIDE
EATING BY NUMBERS
A snapshot of our lives through food. 2 15.8%
11.5%
CHEMISTRY OF CONSUMPTION
How does our body break down and
use the food we eat?
4 £23.86
WHY DO WE EAT?
What drives us to eat different things? 6
How do we sense food?
Average spend per person per Percentage of total budget spent on food and
week in the UK on food and non- non-alcoholic drink for all households vs. the
A HEALTHY DIET?
How does what we eat affect our 8 alcoholic drink purchases.
Ref: www.defra.gov.uk/statistics/files/
fifth of households with the lowest income.
Ref: www.defra.gov.uk/statistics/files/defra-stats-food-family-
weight, mood and health? defra-stats-food-family-annual-2009/pdf annual-2009/pdf
10
FEAST OR FAMINE? UK SPEND ON EATING OUT UK VEGETARIANS AND VEGANS
Exploring some global issues
1955 5%
around food policy. 10%
partly vegetarian
fOoD FOR THOUGHT
We bust some popular myths 12 (don’t eat some types
of fish or meat)
about diet and nutrition.
Real voices
14
2005 3%
Three people’s stories about their
experiences with food and diet.
26%
completely vegetarian
ONLINE
0.3%
Average spend per person per
Go to www.wellcome.ac.uk/bigpicture/food week on eating out, out of total
for more teaching resources on food and diet, food spend, was 26% (£8.26) in vegan
including extra articles, videos, image galleries, 2005 compared to less than 10%
curriculum links, lesson ideas, a glossary and in 1955.
an animation of atherosclerosis. You can Ref: www.defra.gov.uk/statistics/files/ Ref: Food Standards Agency Public Attitudes to Food survey
also download the PDF of this magazine or defra-stats-food-family-annual-2009/pdf 2009, www.imaner.net/panel/statistics.htm
subscribe to the Big Picture series.
Men Women
25
20
Prevalence of obesity (%)
15
£364m
10
UK FOOD AND ALCOHOL IMPORTS AND EXPORTS UK FOOD WASTE PER YEAR
£31bn 8.3m
IMPORTS
£16.1bn £680
EXPORTS
MJ = megajoule, or 106 joules. A Big Mac contains 1.96 MJ. Putting this diagram together, we
found that different sources gave
50
different numbers for the same thing.
48 Why don’t they match?
Average energy requirement/MJ per day
40
Well, data can be interpreted in
different ways, and estimates can be
30 made using different methods and/or
baseline data. Definitions matter,
20
too – different sources might define
‘overweight’ or ‘adult’ differently.
Estimated average requirements for people of average activity (average mass in kg in brackets): six-month-old baby (boy, 8; girl,
7.3); 15-year-old (boy, 55.5; girl, 53); 35- to 49-year-old (man, 69.7; woman, 59). Ref: www.sacn.gov.uk/reports_position_statements/
reports/draft_energy_requirements_report_scientific_consultation_-_november_2009.html. Ref for swimmer: www.guardian.
co.uk/sport/2008/aug/14/michaelphelps.swimming1. Big Mac info: www.weightlossresources.co.uk/calories/calorie_counter.htm.
Conversion used: 250 kilocalories to 1MJ.
SUMMER 2011 | 3
Chemistry of Bare essentials
Some necessary molecules we can
consumption
only get from our diet
Easily digested
Different enzymes work in different parts of the body
Hydrolytic enzymes are the starts breaking down starchy into the small intestine to act synthesise larger molecules
main agents of digestion. They carbohydrates while you are on fats and complex sugars. from small products.
break down proteins, DNA, chewing because it contains the Finally, substances untouched Catabolism plus anabolism
fats and carbohydrates into enzyme amylase. When protein by our enzymes (e.g. soluble makes metabolism.
Pasieka/Science Photo Library
smaller soluble molecules that passes into the stomach, it fibre) may be partially broken
can diffuse easily out of the is digested (hydrolysed) by down by bacteria in the large
intestines and can be used by protease enzymes working in intestine.
the body to provide energy for the acidic environment. Other Digestion is a catabolic
repair and growth. enzymes that work in alkaline process, which generates
Digestion is not a single conditions (e.g. trypsin) are energy. By contrast, anabolic
event. Your saliva, for instance, secreted from the pancreas enzymes use energy to
Artwork of enzyme action
MORE ONLINE: Read about a gory experiment to understand digestion and explore the history of the calorie at www.wellcome.ac.uk/bigpicture/f
=6x
compounds that block
enzymes involved in
tedestudio/iStockphoto
metabolising a range of drugs, so
drug levels stay higher for longer. These drugs
include calcium-channel blockers used to treat high
blood pressure. Source: Bailey DG et al. Lancet
Burger Iceberg lettuce
1991;337(8736):268–9.
anopdesignstock/iStockphoto
food
SUMMER 2011 | 5
LauriPatterson/iStockphoto
Why do we eat?
Delicious food doesn’t just taste good but looks good,
smells good and feels good to eat too. What are the
factors that drive our urge to eat, and what tells us to
stop when we’ve had enough? How do we sense and
experience food, and how are these processes exploited
to make food more palatable and appealing?
“Anyone for seconds?” Your answer Disruption to the appetite system Evolution builds rewards into activities
will depend on how tasty the first helps us understand how it works. that are important for survival and
helping was, who is asking, and For example, one of the genetic reproduction, so the drive to eat when
whether you might look ungrateful. changes in the inherited disorder hungry is strong. Eating activates our
Unconsciously, a shifting network of Prader–Willi syndrome leads to very brain’s reward system, which produces
interactions between brain, stomach high ghrelin production, and children a good feeling via the neurotransmitter
and hormones will also influence with the condition are hungry all dopamine.
whether you still feel peckish or are the time. Recent studies suggest that some
completely stuffed. See our video, article and people who have genetically low levels of
Many controls on appetite (see interactive diagram on appetite at dopamine – and also show low activity in
diagram) affect a small part of the www.wellcome.ac.uk/bigpicture/food the food reward regions of the brain in
brain known as the hypothalamus. It imaging experiments – are especially prone
responds to hormones produced by to putting on weight. Their overeating
the stomach to drive hunger. Ghrelin, A Limbic system could be an attempt to get a stronger
which is secreted when no food has B Hypothalamus response from their sluggish neurons or
arrived for a while, stimulates the could stem from a higher than normal
hypothalamus to make you feel reward from eating: it feels so good you
hungry. The secretion eases up C Vagal afferents nerve want more.
as your stomach fills. D Your genes Both could be true. On one hand, there
The hypothalamus registers many is evidence that obese people start out
other chemical signals that may tell getting more reward from tasty snacks like
you to eat less, as well as producing chocolate ice cream. After they gain weight,
E Stomach
hormones of its own. It is a system their reward centres become less active when
with checks and balances. There J Environmental tasting the same treats. On the other hand,
F Pancreas
is increasing evidence that factors imaging studies also suggest that extreme
it can keep your weight G Duodenum hunger makes the reward centres respond
fairly constant by making more strongly to high-calorie foods (which,
you hungrier if you cut your energy I Fat tissue again, makes evolutionary sense).
H Intestines
intake – bad news for dieters.
Genes and environment fat; genetic mutations mice when its activity
work together to that block production is increased by giving
influence your body size of the hormone or its the mice extra copies
and shape, and a few receptor can lead to an of the gene. Evidence
Eating soup makes you feel full for
genetic variants can unremitting drive to from human data also
longer than eating solid food with
travellinglight/iStockphoto
MORE ONLINE: Food doesn’t taste the same to each of us – read more about why at www.wellcome.ac.uk/bigpicture/food
SondraP/iStockphoto
sounds and umami and bitter tastes with low-pitched ones, Why do we process food?
and that people enjoy food more when ‘matching’ music
is played during eating. Source: www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/
pubmed/20952795 Cooking, fermenting, salting, drying and
pickling all help preserve food or make
it nicer to eat. Modern food processing
is still about preservation – frozen peas,
for instance, were not marketed until the
1950s – but is also geared to convenience,
Matter of taste choice, accessibility and consumer
appeal. Colours, flavours and textures
How do we recognise different tastes? are modified by food scientists and food
technologists. The resulting product,
Different chemicals can give rise to do molecules that we sense as umami. which might be brightly coloured, freeze-
five different types of taste. Sweet, The brain interprets patterns of cell dried, blended or aerated, would perhaps
sour, salty and bitter tastes have been activation, as each taste cell responds not be recognised as food by our ancestors
known for some time. More recently, to a range of chemicals with differing but certainly appeals to many of us.
the savoury taste umami – think of soy sensitivity. The final taste also depends As research shows which ingredients
sauce or the juices from a roasted joint on the texture and temperature of are good for you, food producers try to
of meat – has been added to the set. the food. improve what they offer. Things are
Specialised taste cells send signals Old textbooks mention a ‘taste added (like vitamins to ‘fortified’
to the brain, triggered by a range map’ on your tongue, with different breakfast cereal) or taken away (like fat
of chemical sensors. Salty or sour regions picking up different tastes. from fat-free milk).
substances act on proteins that form However, detailed tests show that all Poor diets can sometimes lead to
channels on the surface of the cells parts of the tongue with taste deficiencies in essential micronutrients.
and control the movement of positive buds can register all types An important example is folic acid – the
ions. Sweet- and bitter-tasting ones of taste. synthetic form of folate, a B vitamin that
bind to different receptor proteins, as is found in leafy vegetables. Low folic
acid levels increase the risk of a range
of developmental problems in babies,
especially neural tube defects such as
spinal bifida. The USA made the addition
Sensing food of folic acid to many cereal products
compulsory in 1998, which produced a
We use many senses when eating
28 per cent reduction in neural
tube defects by 2000. The addition
Tasty food usually of folic acid to foodstuffs has been
smells good, and recommended by the UK Food Standards
eating with a Agency but is not yet compulsory. For
blocked-up nose more, see page 12.
makes food seem Foods may be processed to offer
bland. Appearance health benefits beyond those of their
is important, too inherent nutritional value. So-called
– colours can be a ‘neutraceuticals’ include margarine
warning (blue foods supplemented with processed plant
just don’t seem right) esters (stanols) that allow the margarine’s
or add to the appeal. makers to claim it will lower cholesterol
What looks good is also levels. The genetic modification of crops
influenced by fashion. Older people’s taste and smell could produce finer control over the
White bread was once a luxury but is become less acute, and their appetite composition of foods. Tomatoes, which
now seen as cheap and less wholesome goes down. They may pile salt or sugar are naturally high in lycopenes (a kind
than brown. onto their food, which is unhealthy. of antioxidant), have been engineered
An unusual neurological case Adding ingredients that evoke the to produce high levels of another
shows how colour affects appetite. A savoury taste of umami may help them antioxidant – anthocyanins, which are
patient of the neurologist Oliver Sacks eat more, and a hospital diet that does normally found in berry fruits. The
lost colour vision from a brain injury, just that is under trial in the UK. potential benefits of antioxidants are
Juanmonino/iStockphoto
remembering colour but seeing the Texture is also crucial in our food still under investigation (see page 12).
world in black and white. Food seen in likes. Some people are extra sensitive to Salt is included in many
black and white became unappetising particular textures, usually soft ones, processed foods; see
(imagine eating a black tomato), but and find certain foods impossible to our 0nline article for
he could manage to eat white rice, keep down. For most of us, crunchiness more on this.
yoghurt, black olives and black coffee. is compulsive. Who wants stale crisps?
SUMMER 2011 | 7
A healthy diet? A healthy weight
BMI is one way to define
a healthy weight
Doctors usually rate people as underweight,
We’re constantly being told about the importance of normal, overweight or obese by their body
eating a balanced diet and being a healthy weight, but mass index (BMI). A higher BMI normally
how are these things defined? How can what you eat means a higher percentage of body fat;
however, this varies according to age, ethnic
today affect your weight, mood and health now and in group and sex. There are also differences
the future? How might your dietary choices affect the between, say, a body-builder who eats piles
health of your children and grandchildren? of protein to add muscle mass and a couch
potato who weighs the same but lives on snack
foods and, hence, has more body fat.
The BMI is not a perfect measure. It applies
best to people who are mainly sedentary, have
All consuming roughly average body composition and are
not too short or tall. Some researchers think
How might your diet affect how you behave? that waist size and/or waist-to-hip ratio – or
combining these with the BMI – are more
useful indicators of a
Some food additives have been from fat produces high levels of healthy weight.
linked to hyperactivity in the substances known as ketones.
children, and coloured drinks It involves ultra-close scrutiny of
now carry health warnings if they meals and snacks.
contain any of the six additives More controversial are
that the UK Food Standards claims that too little of some
Agency wants to phase out. The nutrients can affect behaviour. 18.5–24.9
warning came after a 2007 study Supplementing trial diets normal
showed that children given drinks with vitamins, minerals and 30.0–39.9
with the colourings were more essential fatty acids has reduced less obese 40.0
likely to be hyperactive than those violence among prisoners. than 18.5 25.0–29.9 and over
who drank fruit juice. Supplements – especially of the underweight overweight morbidly
Some children with epilepsy essential fatty acids known as obese
have fewer seizures if they adopt omega-3s, which are important
a high-fat, low-carbohydrate diet. for brain function – have been
This is known as a ketogenic diet claimed to reduce a range of Caloric restriction
because deriving energy problems in schoolchildren,
including problems with Will eating less give you a longer life?
attention span. There is
little evidence to back Cutting food intake to the bare minimum might
their use, however. See be helpful for a longer life. It seems to work
www.guardian.co.uk/ in flies, mice, rats and even rhesus monkeys,
commentisfree/2010/ where a long-term trial is still in progress – but
jun/05/bad- the idea that so-called caloric restriction slows
science-omega3- ageing is hard to test in people. It would take a
fish-oil long time, and keeping to a diet that excludes
many treats and needs medical supervision
to ensure adequate nutrition is hard. Extreme
LauriPatterson/iStockphoto
caloric restriction can lead to dangerous weight
loss, especially for young people.
More research is needed in this area. Some
recent studies in fruit flies suggest that the
balance of amino acids in the diet may be more
FAST FACT important than the calorie count and that
Cats are unable to detect sweet- low-calorie diets can lead to diminished
tasting food because one of the two fertility. Eventually, limiting calories may
genes needed is inactive. Unlike not be necessary, as work in mice may
humans, though, they can taste lead to drugs that mimic some of
adenosine triphosphate (ATP), a the metabolic changes induced
signal for meat. Source: www. by caloric restriction. See www.
© Idamini/Alamy
scientificamerican.com/article. wellcome.ac.uk/News/Media-
cfm?id=strange-but-true-cats- office/Press-releases/2009/
cannot-taste-sweets WTX057739.htm
MORE ONLINE: Fossilised bones show humans were butchering meat 3.5 million years ago. Read more at www.wellcome.ac.uk/bigpicture/food
© Edd Westmacott/Alamy
proteins in your mouth and tongue when you eat
these fruits, causing tingling and stinging! Source:
www.thenakedscientists.com/HTML/content/
kitchenscience/exp/science-of-fruit-jellies/
EPIGENETIC EFFECTS
Our parents’ diets can influence our health
Foreign bodies
Is a Mediterranean diet better for us? Are you eating the perfect diet to boost your health?
Make sure your parents did, too. Recent evidence
Food in some other countries Mediterranean diet tended to suggests that epigenetic effects – patterns of switching
seems to keep people healthier reduce coronary heart disease in the on/off controls on genes – can pass down one or
there, but it takes population- separately from other factors even two generations.
wide studies of health and such as cholesterol levels, Babies who were born during extreme food
disease to pin down what it smoking and exercise. shortages in the Netherlands during World War II had
is about different diets that Shifts in eating habits also low birth weights. They also had higher rates of heart
provides particular benefits. shed light on links between disease in later life, a sign of metabolic stress during
The effects of a diet diet and disease. Japan – where early development. To geneticists’ surprise, so did their
featuring lots of olive oil, fresh the traditional diet includes children, even though they were born long after the
fruit and vegetables, whole plenty of fish, rice, soy and famine was over.
grains, and fish but little dairy vegetables – has seen a move Mothers who have poor diets and grow obese
or red meat – as traditionally toward the larger portions of may also alter their offspring’s metabolism. Studies
seen in Spain, Greece, southern meat and dairy fats consumed in rats in 2010 suggested that obesity in adult males
Italy and Morocco – were in the West. Patterns of disease can increase the risk of their daughters developing
tested by the Seven Countries in Japan have become more like diabetes. It is possible this effect arises from the long-
Study, which began in 1958. those of the USA. Heart disease term consumption of a high-fat diet. Alternatively,
It compared food habits and rates have risen, although they there may be crucial periods in a father’s development
health in the USA, northern remain relatively low. The death when sperm are affected. Further research is needed.
Europe, southern Europe and rate from strokes, associated Other studies continue to broaden the known effects
Japan and confirmed that a high with high blood pressure from a of these epigenetic influences. Experiments with rats
blood cholesterol level increases large sodium intake (e.g. a diet on ‘junk food’ diets suggest that an increased breast
the risk of heart disease. It also high in soy), has fallen steeply. cancer risk associated with a high-fat diet persisted for
suggested, however, that the three generations.
The effects of diet on health many cancers, heart disease, ten countries in Europe, is puberty, and women who
are not usually immediately stroke and type 2 diabetes. following 500 000 people for at become seriously underweight
evident, but they work in the They reveal the swings and least ten years. This will show commonly stop having periods.
long term alongside other roundabouts of diet – for up a whole range of risk factors People classed as underweight,
influences like exercise example, eating lots of red meat for cancers, especially diet, obese or overweight by their
or smoking. That means increases the risk of bowel which varies widely across the BMI have higher death rates
long-term studies on cancer, while upping your fibre countries involved. than those with BMIs in the
large numbers of intake can reduce it. Diet also influences early normal range.
people and careful Studies to tease out the development. This extends What are the challenges
statistical analysis. details are getting larger. The beyond infancy, when poor when studying how our diet
Such epidemiological EPIC (European Prospective diets slow normal weight affects our health? Find out
studies show that Investigation into Cancer gain. Being underweight at www.wellcome.ac.uk/
diet affects the risk of and Nutrition) study, across in adolescence can delay bigpicture/food
SUMMER 2011 | 9
Feast or famine?
Food policy is all about what governments, companies and other organisations do or don’t do to
influence food – from production to consumption and everything in between.
A new direction for food policy, based on creating sustainable development, is emerging. It
is influenced by a number of issues,1 including water, energy, climate change, land use, human
health, social justice, labour processes, demographics, and food availability and stocks.
Below, we present data around some of the global issues surrounding food policy. We’ve begun
to think about the ways in which we could change the way we produce, distribute and consume
food – can you think of more?
1. Lang T et al. Food Policy: Integrating health, environment and society. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2009
14 000
shows the water footprint for several
types of food and drink. They are 12 000
calculated as a global average because 10 000
variations in farming techniques etc.
8000
across the world mean that water
footprints can vary for products 6000
according to where they are made. 4000
Water footprints are more than the 2000
water contained within something. For
0
example, one litre of beer has a water
ef
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Issue 2: Meat consumption Graph 2: Meat consumption per person in different countries over time (kg/year)
1960 1980 2002 USA UK Kenya China India
USA 89.2 108.1 124.8 140
Meat consumption per person (kg/year)
Source: www.guardian.co.uk/ 60
environment/datablog/2009/sep/02/meat-
consumption-per-capita-climate-change 40
20
0
1960 1980 2002 Year
MORE ONLINE: For lesson ideas, further questions and downloadable pro and con cards, see www.wellcome.ac.uk/bigpicture/food
Source: www.bmj.com/content/333/7564/362.full
Potential solution
The Big Picture Institute of Food Policy has proposed a solution to
the issues illustrated by the graphs and data above and on page 10.
Solution:
Lab bench to barbecue: The government increases funding
for research into bioengineered (‘cultured’) meat. We don’t just use animals for
meat and milk, but also use
People might be their wool, skins and fleeces
We’ve given some pros and cons (right) – see if you can come up uncomfortable about for leather, and their dung
with more of your own. For another potential solution and more eating cultured meat. for fuel and fertiliser.
pros and cons, see www.wellcome.ac.uk/bigpicture/food CON CON
SUMMER 2011 | 11
Adverts, magazines and TV Do we need to
shows are full of talk of wondrous ?
ingredients, from ‘antioxidants’ take vitamins
ill usually mee
t
d diet w
to ‘superfoods’ and from ‘bad A well-balance ke for
ded daily inta
the recommen w people with
cholesterol’ to ‘good bacteria’. vitamins and
minerals. A fe
pr es cr ibed vitamin
At Big Picture we know that e pr ob lems will be
dige st iv ne else needs
, but hardly anyo
there’s no substitute for cold, hard su pp le m en ts
ption is vitam
in D, which,
evidence, so we’ve gone straight them. One exce a supplement
ac id , is re commended as
like fo lic cause it is
to the science to separate some na nt w om en in the UK be cially
for pr eg lopment, espe
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bigpicture@wellcome.ac.uk
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12 | BIG PICTURE 14: FOOD AND DIET
Is there
such a
as a ‘superfood thing
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diets wor
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ir Diets can w on ch an ging your li ow ac tive
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ypical lo g- n
probably little evid idants, b
ut as exp ny energy conte te or h ig h-protein. T
do bette ence of th lained -carbohyd ra people have
age-old a r to aim
at you e ir b e nefits. Y low fat, low fe w k ilo s, and most vertise
dv
foods’ at ice to eat your gre r five a day, or ju ou would term weight
loss is a
o se n d ie t. Diets that ad
w w w.nh e n st follow ing up their
ch lve losing
BT H _ M s.uk/ ne s . S ee
ws/2011/0 an NHS report o the trouble keep th an th is usually invo
iracle_% n ‘mirac weight loss
20foods 2F
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is soon replac to lose it agai
df ents/ water, whic
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to av m, an
It is easier rs metabolis ght
se d bo d y fat often alte e n ew w eight. Overwei
Increa ai n ta in th r fo o d
tend to m er sense of sm
ell fo
in ways that en have a keen .
m ay ev 559 9 5)
people ealth-117 Diets.pdf
.uk/news/ h s/ TruthFad
(w w w.bbc.co m /fo o d fa ct
a.uk.co
See w w w.bd
UK?
Is undernutrition a problem in the
in one or
Undernutrition is a deficiency
n enc omp asses being
more nutrients and ofte
is mos t com mon amo ng elderly
underweight. It
cook eat
or
people who find it hard to shop,
blem is hard to
properly. The scale of the pro
mat es sug gest that
measure, but some esti
r-65 s cou ld be mal nou rished Does it matter what time
ten per cent of ove of day you eat?
ents suffer
in the UK . Many hospitalised pati No, what matters is ho
ys thei r reco very.
from malnutrition, which dela in a day, any time. Peop
w much energ y you con
sume
fs/b ape n_p ubs /mm -
ww w.bapen.org.uk/pd after 5pm to lose weigh
le who say they don’t
eat
toolkit-exec-su mm ary. pdf t are just keeping their
intake down by avoidi energ y
ng an evening meal.
build-up of cholesterol into brittle plaques between one or more carbon atoms.
We all need some fat, but not too much.
to that block arteries – heart disease. See However, not all unsaturated fats are
Cholesterol, for example, is needed
hormon es our animation on this at www.wellcome. good. A double bond is more rigid than a
make up cell membra nes,
ac.uk/bigpicture/food. single bond, and the way it makes other
and other molecules. Along with other
Some cholesterol is made in the body chemical groups stick out affects its
lipids (including triglycerides and
rted (including in the liver), and some we get chemical and physical properties. Trans
phospholipids), cholesterol is transpo
es called from our diet. Eating lots of saturated fats, fats are made when unsaturated fats have
in the blood in complex
in which all the carbon atoms are linked more hydrogen added but not enough
lipoproteins, which include high-density
to as many hydrogen atoms as they can to make them completely saturated.
(HDL) and low-density (LDL) forms. The
as take, tends to increase LDL cholesterol. They are relatively rare in nature but are
cholesterol carried by these is known
and LDL (‘bad’) This effect on blood cholesterol level is often included in processed foods. Trans
HDL (‘good’) choleste rol
caused by eating fats increase LDL cholesterol and raise
cholesterol, respectively. HDL lipoproteins much greater than that
choleste rol. the risk of heart disease. See www.bda.
carry cholesterol from parts of the body to
have a double uk.com/foodfacts/cholesterol.pdf
the liver, where it is cleared from the body. Unsaturated fats
High levels of LDL choleste rol lead to a chemica l bond
SUMMER 2011 | 13
Real voices
Three people talk to us about the role of food in their lives. Meet Julie Wilson, a nursery assistant
living with a condition that resticts her diet, James Wannerton, who can taste words he hears or
sees, and Georgine Leung, whose job as a nutrition scientist means that she advises people on
eating healthily.
How does phenylketonuria What does the test involve? Who are you? bland foods if I’m going to a
affect you? The test uses a Guthrie card. I work in IT and have lexical– restaurant, I’ll pick strong foods
People with phenylketonuria You prick your finger and gustatory synaesthesia, an with a big mixture of textures.
(PKU) are advised to avoid squeeze blood into four little extra connection between two
high-protein foods (e.g. meat circles, then fill out your name, areas of my brain. It means that Do you take part in research?
and cheese), which means I’ve address and the date. You have whenever I hear, see or read Yes, including that using
had to follow a special very- to say if you’ve had a cold too, something, I get a specific taste. magnetic resonance imaging
low-protein diet since I was because if you’re run down your (MRI). In one study, researchers
born. The diet is based on phenylalanine levels are higher. When did you first realise you did an MRI scan of the brain of
exchanges. They’re the amount You send the card off and get had this ability? a person without synaesthesia
of phenylalanine the dietitian the results back four days later, You have to bear in mind that whilst they were eating, and
at the hospital says I can have which tell you if your exchanges this is perfectly normal for me, then they scanned my brain, as
each day, based on the levels need to go up or down. so it’s a bit like asking when I listened to particular words
in my blood. When I was five, was the first time you smelt without eating. The same brain
I could have three exchanges a Is it hard watching others something and what did it areas lit up.
day, now I can have ten – that’s eating food you can’t have? smell like – you can’t remember.
equivalent to one small slice of It’s not too bad, as I’ve never I can certainly remember How common is synaesthesia?
bread and three tablespoons of known any different. I picking up tastes when I was One study suggested that 1
baked beans. We have our own remember when I was about at school, around the age of in 23 people have it in some
special PKU foods: milk, bread, seven going to McDonalds four and a half. I have very form. One of the joys of being
pasta, cakes, biscuits and flour, with other kids with PKU I met strong memories of sitting in President of the UK Association
which we get on prescription through the National Society assemblies. We were read the is having people say: “I’ve
from the doctor, and the for PKU [NSPKU]. We got some Lord’s Prayer every morning: it always done that, I thought it
hospital dietitian tells us about strange looks because we all had a taste of very thin crispy was just me”. However, it can
new PKU foods and recipes. had our scales out weighing our bacon. I can taste it now. cause problems in education;
food, but for us it was normal. affected schoolchildren might
How do you know if you From an early age my mum Can you describe it? struggle in noisy environments.
have too much or too little used to say what I could and It’s not an extra sense, but
phenylalanine? couldn’t eat, and I’ve stood by it does give me an extra Would you switch it off if
Each person is affected that. perception. It’s like getting an you could?
differently. If levels are too high eye-dropper of taste dripped To me, having a memory
or low, people feel tired or ill, or Has it affected your career? on my tongue. I get a taste, without a taste attached is
they get a headache and can’t Although I couldn’t taste much temperature and texture. One just weird, I don’t know how
concentrate. For some people, food, I’m a qualified chef. I of the ways I stop this affecting or if I’d remember things. Of
including me, our eyes change. don’t work as a chef any more, my concentration on a day-to- the thousands of people with
They’re normally hazel green, but this was not because of day basis is to eat strong-tasting synaesthesia I’ve met, not one
but if I’m under the weather PKU but because I was offered sweets like Wine Gums, and would want it taken away.
and my phenylalanine levels are a new career and wanted a drinking coffee.
high, they turn piercing blue. new challenge. I never let PKU
stop me doing anything in life How does it affect your life? Read a longer version at www.
How often are your levels – that’s been my rule from a When I was younger I used to wellcome.ac.uk/bigpicture/
checked? young age. choose friends according to food. Find out more at
You’re supposed to check your whether they tasted nice. When www.uksynaesthesia.com
blood phenylalanine levels For more information, see I got older it used to affect my
every couple of weeks or so. I www.nspku.org choice of girlfriend. Their name
don’t do it that often, because would be just as attractive to
I’ve got used to knowing if I’ve me as the way they looked or
had too much or not enough their personality. I won’t pick
phenylalanine from how I feel.
MORE ONLINE: Meet a baker, food researchers and a chef recreating an old recipe in our videos at www.wellcome.ac.uk/bigpicture/food
SUMMER 2011 | 15
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Kevin MacKenzie, University of Aberdeen C a th i s o n p
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